It’s a must-do for anyone visiting Stockholm. 

The ABBA Museum tells the story of the famous four and even lets visitors experience what it’s like to be on stage with them. 

That’s exactly what Bavarian state premier Markus Söder did on an official visit to Sweden this week. 

“I’m a huge ABBA fan,” the politician, who’s the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) – the Bavarian sister party of the CDU – tweeted on Thursday with pictures of himself at the museum. 

“I’ve loved listening to their music since childhood and still do today. ABBA are unique artists. They are among the greatest in the world. My favourite song: Dancing Queen.”

Bin riesiger #ABBA Fan: Ein kurzer Besuch im ABBA-Museum muss in Stockholm einfach sein. Die Musik höre ich seit der Kindheit und bis heute sehr gern. ABBA sind einzigartige Künstler. Sie gehören zu den größten der Welt. Mein Lieblingslied: Dancing Queen. Was hört ihr am liebsten… pic.twitter.com/TeZIdohnbH

— Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) February 22, 2024

It’s no wonder that Söder became a Dancing Queen on the stage at the museum, leaving many in Germany open-mouthed (and a little confused). 

Bavarian Music proudly presents: #ABBA feat. Markus 😀 Dancing Queen ist mein absolutes ABBA Lieblingslied… pic.twitter.com/pzizcFqkPY

— Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) February 22, 2024

Despite being a staunch conservative (the CSU is a traditional centre-right party), the politician is known for indulging his silly side, opting for elaborate fancy-dress costumes – including Shrek and Homer Simpson – during Fasching (carnival) – and drinking beer at Bavarian folk festivals. 

Showcasing this part of his personality seems to work well for him. Shortly after tweeting the video of himself dancing and singing with ABBA on X, formerly Twitter, it had been viewed by tens of thousands of people, received well over 1,000 likes and hundreds of retweets. Not bad for a German regional politician. 

Apart from what some would call a PR stunt with his favourite band, Söder has been doing a lot of high profile networking during the three-day visit. 

He met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as well as defence ministers. 

And on Thursday, Queen Silvia of Sweden welcomed him to the royal palace in the centre of Stockholm.

Söder said the appointment was a “great honour”.

A reception from the Queen is unusual for a regional state leader and other politicians outside of a national government.

However, Queen Silvia does have close ties to southern Germany, including Bavaria.

The Queen was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg in 1943, and the 80-year-old met her husband, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

The royal couple have visited Bavaria together, while Queen Silvia last visited Bavaria in 2023 for the opening of a new building for the World Childhood Foundation, which she founded.

On Friday, Söder was set to conclude his trip with a visit to the space centre in Kiruna in the far north of Sweden.

‘Brothers in Arms’

The question remains, though – why is Söder on an international visit in the first place?

One main topic for Söder is defence policy. 

With fears that Russia will expand its war in future, Söder is in favour of reintroducing compulsory military service in Germany in the next “five to seven years”, and voiced interest in hearing about the Swedish model as well as other defence topics.

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“We have to make a plan immediately to strengthen the Bundeswehr,” said Söder during his visit, calling for more funding from the government to the German army. 

He said Bavaria welcomed Sweden’s entry into NATO, adding: “We are Brothers in Arms.”

Wir sind „Brothers in Arms“: Bayern begrüßt den geplanten @NATO-Beitritt Schwedens. Die NATO ist nicht nur ein Bündnis für Sicherheit, sondern eine #Wertegemeinschaft. Hatten dazu einen guten Austausch mit Verteidigungsminister Pal Jonson und Zivilschutzminister Carl-Oskar Bohlin… pic.twitter.com/Hq72vkkAas

— Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) February 22, 2024

The CSU leader also agreed to form a joint government commission with Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson. The aim is to have a regular exchange around once a year on specific topics such as technology, economics and energy.

Overall, Söder is clearly having a successful diplomatic trip, raising questions that he could be planning to stand for the German chancellorship in future – a point that has come up a few times in the last few years since former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) stepped down. 

READ ALSO: Why Bavaria does politics differently to the rest of Germany

He might want to re-think his small talk, though, if he has ambitions of rising up further on the political and world stage. According to Bavarian regional broadcaster BR24 he described the weather in Sweden as “Arschkalt” (bloody cold) during his visit to the royal residence.